Dynamic toy simulating a feeding bird or animal



July 19, 1960 A. w. RING v 2,945,320

DYNAMIC TOY SIMULATING A FEEDING BIRD OR ANIMAL Filed Dec. 25, 1957 INVEN OR.

United States Patent 6 DYNAMIC TOY SIMULATING A FEEDING BIRD OR ANIMAL Albert W. Ring, Richmond Hill, N.Y., assignor to Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, llll.

Filed Dec. 23, 1951s No. 704,392 5 Claims; c1. 46-242) toy of the class described which can be manipulated so as to move the head into a feeding or pecking position and also to raise simulated food in its beakor mouth when retracted to normal or inactive position.

Other objects of the invention are to provide an arrangement by which the simulated food may not only be peeked up, but may be stored or retained within the body of the simulated bird or animal as a result of repeated' pecking or feeding manipulations, so as to simulate the eating of ameal by means of a plurality of repeated feeding or pecking cycles.

- A further object of the invention is to provide a toy of the type above described which can be manufactured inexpensively from available materials, which is simple indesign, rugged and fool-proof in operation, and is capable of withstanding the hard usage to which a toy of this character is generally subjected. Other objects will be apparent as the description proceeds.

The drawings illustrate the invention as applied to a simulated bird mounted on a stationary base. In said drawings: 7

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the toy, certain parts being broken away to illustrate the interior construction;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the toy shown in Figure 1,

parts being broken away or shown in section to disclose the mechanical arrangements; and

Figure'3 is also a side elevation of the toy, partly in section, but showing the position of the parts during the act of feeding or peeking at simulated food. Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 represents a base having an upward extension or standardll. upon Which-the body 12 of the simulated bird is mounted for slidable up and down vertical movement. As 'shown, the body 12, which may be made of plastic, sheet metal or other suitable material, is hollow, the bottom wall 13 of the hollow body being apertured to slide up and down along the column 11. As shown, the upper end of said column is made with a vertically extending slot or guideway 14 within which slides a transverse rod 15 extending horizontally through the hollow body 12 and fixed in the sides thereof by riveting or any other suitable manner, as indicated at 16 in Figure 1.

Normally, i.e. in inactive or non-feeding condition, the bird is in elevated position on the standard 11 with the pin 15 engaging the upper end of slot 14 in said standard (see Figure 2). The toy is moved and held in this position by means of a tension spring 17 extending between the lug 18 on the top of the standard and an ear 18A struck out from the bottom wall of the birds body.

As shown best in Figure 1, the toy includes two principal elements, the body proper, which is 12, and the head portion 19, which includes a lower extension simulating 2,945,320 Patented July 19, 1960 2 V the neck of the bird. It will be seen that the main body portion 12 includes a pair of side walls, indicated at 20, and a top Wall 21 which is carried around in a curve to the front and is extended upwardly, finally terminating in a tail portion 22, which is merely ornamental and has no mechanical function.

The front or curved portion of the wall 21 is formed with a peripheral slot commencing at the point 23 and terminating at the point 23A, adjacent the standard 11 (see Figure 2), and said slot in the front part of the body is Wide enough, as shown at 24, to admit the lower part of the neck 26 of the bird, said neck 26 and head 19 having flat, parallel vertical walls. The lower end of the neck 26 accommodates a horizontal, transverse pin 25.

The pin 25 extends through the lower portions of the side walls 20 of the lower portion of the neck 26 of the bird and also through the side walls 20 of the body so that said pin 25 constitutes a shaft or pivot permitting thehead 19 to oscillate around the pivot 25 between the vertical position shown in Figure 2 to the horizontal position shown in Figure 3.

Means are provided to effect said pivotal or pecking movement of the head 19 by' pressing down upon the top plate 21 of the bird, as indicated by the arrow 27. This result is effected by providing on the shaft 25 between the side walls of the neck 26 a small spur gear28 which meshes with a vertically extending rack 29 formed as a part of the standard 1-1. 7 It will be understood that when the bird is pressed down in the direction of the arrow 27, the body will slide downwardly, but since the pinion 28 is in mesh with the fixed rack 29, the pinion will be compelled to rotate and as it is a fixed part of the birds neck, the birds neck will also be rotated into the position shown in Figure 3.

When'the toy is in the position shown in Figure 3, the

food is picked up from the ground by means of a movable tongue-like element 30 having at its outer end a small, cylindrical, permanent magnet 31, Which in its outermost position is just within the beak 32 of the bird, and is close enough to the ground to make contact with a pellet 33 made of iron or other magnetizable or magneto-philic material. It will be understood that all parts of the toy adjacent to the tongue 30 or magnet 31 are made a of material which is not magneto-philic or magnetizable.

The inner end of the tongue-like. element 30 is fixed in a shaft or trunnion 34 which extends through an arcuate guide slot 35, which is concentric with the center of the shaft25 on which the neck 26 swings, so that it does not interfere with-the pivotal pecking movement of the head of the bird. 1

Also, the pivot 34 is rotatable in the side walls 20 of the body of the bird so that the tongue element 30 is permitted to swing from its relatively vertical position shown in Figure 2 to a relatively horizontal position as shown in Figure 3. Also, on account of the fact that the pin 34 is at substantially the same horizontal level as the pin 25, but is spaced therefrom, the tongue 30 will be compelled to move outwardly in the mouth or throat 36 of the bird as a result of movement of the head of the bird from the position shown in Figure 2 to the Figure 3 position.

Means are provided for detaching the simulated food pellet 33 from the magnet 31 when the head of the bird moves back into the normal, inactive position shown in Figure 2. This means comprises a stripper element 37 which, in the present instance, is shown as a curved metal strip extending from the mouth 36 of the bird to a point adjacent the lower end of the arcuate slot 35. The space between said partition 37 and the front wall of the neck 26a constitutes a throat or pocket 39 for receiving the released pellets'when'the tongue30 is retracted to the position shown in Figure 2.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that the tongue element'30 "is moved a distance approximately the same as the horizontal distance between the centers of pivots 25 and 34,. so that; when the magnet 31 is moved in the mouth of the.bird;betweenlits operative position shown in Figure 3 and its inactive or retracted position shown in Figure 2, in said position of Figure 2 the magnet will be withdrawn inwardly within the channel 38a between the palate 38 of the birds mouth and the partition 37. This space is slightly greater thanthe diameter of the cylindrical magnet 31 so as. to admit the latter freely. However, the space between the upper or outerend of the'tongue element 37 and the palate 38 is substantially smaller than. thediameter of the pellet 3350 that. when the magnet 31 moves inwardly to pass the outer edge ofthe partition 37, the pellet 33 will, in efiect, .be stripped oif the magnet, and thereby released. When so released, it descends by gravity into the pocket 39. It will be observed that on the lower jaw 49 of the bird and-to the inside thereof, there isfixed a winglike member 41 having an outwardly extending shelflike arm 42 which serves as a guide to direct the pellet through the opening 43 into the pocket 39. Also, on

the other-end of the wing-like member 41, there is a rear extension 44 constituting, in effect, a fence, for preventing the pellets from jumping back through the opening 43 when the head is moved down into pecking position shown in Figure 3. However, there is. sufficient space between thetail end of the fence element 44 and the partition 37 to permit the pellets to descend into the purse or pocket 39.

Various features of the invention which are believed to be new are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A-toy of the class described comprising a relatively stationary base, a body carried by said base and movable relative to the base, a head carried by said body and movable up and down relative to said body, an operative connection. between said base and said head for ettecting said relative movement of the head on the body when the body is moved relative to the base, and

a magnet carried by said head for attracting and picking up a pellet of magnetizable material when said head is moved downwardly into the vicinity of said pellet.

2. A toy of the class described comprising a relatively stationary base, a body carried by said base and movable vertically up and down relative to the base, a head carried by said body and rockablethereon to move between an upper inactive position and a lower active position. relative to said body, an operative connection,

between said base and said head for effecting said relative-movement of the 'head on the body as an incident to the up and down movement of the body on the base, anda magnet carnied by said head for attracting and picking up a pellet of magnetizable material when said .4 head is moved downwardly into its said active-position and into the vicinity of said pellet.

3. A mechanical toy which includes a body, a head on said body and movable on said body up and down between an inactive upper position and a lower feeding position simulating that of a live animal, said head havingv a feeding, mouth, a magnet carriedby the head, and operating means connecting' said'magnet with said body for moving said magnet outwardly in said mouth as an incident to the movement of the head into an active lower feeding position, and for retracting said magnet into an inactive positionv when the head is retracted into its inactive position; i

4. A mechanical toy which includes a body, a head pivoted on said body so as to rock said head on said body downwardly from an inactive upper position into a lower feeding position simulating that of a live animal, said head having a feeding month, an element carried in said head, operating means connectingrsaid element with said body for moving said element outwardly in said mouth as an incident to the downward movement of the head into its lower feeding position, and for retracting said element when the head is rocked into its inactive position, a magnet carried on the outer end of said. element and adapted to attract and pick. up a mag-v netizable object when said head is in its lower position, and a stripper carried by said head for detaching said object from the magnet as an incident to the retractive movement of said element.

, 5. A mechanical toy which includes a'body, a head pivoted on said body so as torock said head on said body downwardly from an inactive upper position into a lower feeding position simulating that of a live animal, said head having a feeding mouth, an element carried in said head, operating means connecting said element withrsaid body for moving said element outwardly in said mouth as an incident to the downward movement of the head into its lower feeding position, and for retracting said element when the head is rocked into its inactive position, a magnet carried on the outer end of said element and adapted to attract and pick up a magnetizable object when said head is in its lower position, and a stripper carried by said head for detaching said object from the magnet as an incident to the retractive movement of said element, said head being provided with a pocket for receiving and storing a plurality of said objects.

References Cited in the tile of this patent 

